KATHMANDU: Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam said that citizens in a democratic country have the constitutional right to dissent, question, and protest. Reflecting on the Gen-Z movement from one year ago, Minister Gautam emphasized that the state must exercise extreme restraint and accountability when using force against citizens.
Paying tribute to the youth who lost their lives during the movement, she stated that the firing incident cannot be dismissed merely as a case of ‘crowd control.’ Minister Gautam said, ‘The state had power, security apparatus, opportunity to prepare, and less lethal options for crowd control. But bullets were fired on the streets.’
She clarified that the state holds the right to carry arms to protect the public, not to take lives. According to the minister, the objective of crowd control is not to end lives. ‘The state received the right to carry guns from the people. But that right is not to shoot at unarmed citizens, but to protect the people,’ she added.
Recalling the pain of parents who lost their children during the movement, she remarked that the incident also struck a blow to the public’s trust in the state. ‘Along with the bullets fired at the youth that day, the trust in the state also collapsed. The state’s credibility was also shot,’ she said.
Minister Gautam noted that the event taught a painful lesson about how ruthless democracy can become when the state loses restraint. She stressed the need for state reform to ensure such incidents never happen again. She expressed hope that the sacrifice of the youth would serve as a warning to future governments to remember their boundaries, dignity, and duties.
